SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDE FOR TEACHERS

Transcription

1 The Heckscher Museum of Art SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDE FOR TEACHERS ON VIEW July 30 - October 23, 2011 WHAT S INSIDE About the Exhibition... 1 Artist Statements... 2 Be Part of the Art with artist Thea Lanzisero Community Environmental Art Project.. 4 Exhibition-Related Websites and Videos... 5 Vocabulary... 6 Books... 7 Pre- and Post-Visit Activities... 8 Images of Select Artwork... 9 Also on View Explore the Collection Above (L to R): Tamiko Kawata, Newsday Fall, 2011, Installation [detail]; Seung Lee, Tree of Life III, 2011, Installation [detail]; Winn Rea, Reed Topo: Cold Spring Harbor Hollow, 2011, Installation [detail]; Barbara Roux, Tulip Seed Moon, 2010, Photograph [detail]; Thea Lanzisero, Bamboo Weaving [detail]. 2 Prime Avenue Huntington, NY Education Department

2 ABOUT THE EXHIBITION Exhibition Summary This exhibition features the work of Long Island artists who explore our experience of the environment in installations created from natural and recycled man-made materials from tulip tree branches and bamboo to bubble wrap and Newsday newspapers. On Long Island, as elsewhere, the preservation of the environment is a significant issue as human intervention continues to damage Long Island s fragile ecology. Artists have responded in a variety of ways that focus attention on the processes, rhythms, and beauty of the natural world and our relationship to it. What will students see? Five installations, several photographs, and mixed media works of art Works by these five contemporary artists from Long Island or New York City: Tamiko Kawata Thea Lanzisero Seung Lee Winn Rea Barbara Roux Works of art incorporating the following materials: charcoal and pastel video photography reeds bamboo rope tulip tree branches Newsday newspapers bubble wrap shredded paper tree stumps 1

3 ARTIST STATEMENTS Tamiko Kawata I create my works through experimenting with materials that reflect my life and my thoughts. Small, unpretentious, and valueless things from our daily life often become my primary medium. I look for another language, energy, chaos, and harmony, within quiet stillness. I came from Japan in my young adult life, and I feel my works are often intuitive reactions to the American life that I have happily adopted, my art making is a visual journey of my life. Observing our environment is an exciting daily practice and nature s phenomena such as water, mist, shadows, wind... are strong inspirations to form my works. Thea Lanzisero I am interested in the concept that matter is made of minute particles in constant motion yet bound together by unseen forces. Guided by this idea I construct sculptural forms using repetition; combining similar forms bound together to complete a structure. I use various materials including paper, steel, rope, fabric, and bamboo. Seung Lee Art making is a spiritual activity occupied with time (past, present, and future) and space (pictorial and personal). I see the present as the pivot point on which the past and future revolve, the only solid point of orientation for time. I am constantly trying to learn of my inner self, striving to exist more in the present. My ideas are clearest when I m closest to this point of orientation. I believe it s the only way to create an honest work of art. Many of the subjects and materials in my works are discovered on the street or in other surroundings: wood scraps, dishes, tree roots, broken TVs, VCRs, and other found materials. I assemble those things for which I have strong feelings with enthusiasm and integrity. Some objects seem content to remain on the street while others beg me to bring them to life. Those objects seem to have a history, which is compelling to me. I often feel like I am translating a statement they are making through different media --- video installation, painting, assemblage sculpture, photograph, and drawing, I amplify their essential quality. The symbols in my works are also based on found objects, such as columns, trees, dishes, chairs, game boards, etc. I have particular interest in these materials because of their relationship to society and the environment. Discarded objects directly comment on the wasteful and disposable nature of society. My recent work deals with the creation of an inventive environment, which provides the viewer with an opportunity to share in a vision of environmental and social downfall and hopefully inspire them to reflect on their own experience and concerns. Reused paper is the raw material for recent drawings in which I reinterpret existing images. I take discarded building plans pasted to canvas as a starting point for ironic paintings of denuded trees, insects, leaves, vines, and recycled images of previous works. The vegetation symbolizes the destruction of natural resources that are used to produce the paper and canvas I salvage. As my life grows and changes, so the discarded objects and symbols in my work evolve. This is the nature of time and space. Time moves on, and its effect on my environment is evident. 2

4 ARTIST STATEMENTS (cont d) Winn Rea Topo Walk: Cold Spring Harbor Hollow is a video installation allowing the viewer to take the place of my body passing through the landscape. The image of sunlight filtered through a canopy of green leaves is fragmented by a translucent grid of tiny mirrors and scattered around the space. The scenes of a wooded landscape are punctured by displaced fragments of urban night scenes and an empty sick bed, capturing the way the mind displaces itself from its current location when remembering an absent loved one. Reed Topo: Cold Spring Harbor Hollow is an installation of reeds on the wall that recreates the topography of the video. Time spent pouring over maps and translating graphical information into three-dimensional form transports me back into the landscape. The repetitive process of sorting, sizing, cutting, and counting reeds induces a meditative state that calms the mind. The painstaking re-construction of the landscape, first by hammering sewing pins into the wall, then by sliding reeds over the pins, cannot be accomplished without a community of friends witnesses to the multitude of tiny actions that coalesce into form. Barbara Roux As an artist I deal with ideas about natural history, habitat loss, and preservation. My work grows out of my personal involvement with natural landscapes and also stems from my actions to protect these wild places. Like the American Hudson River School artists, I see the transcendental in nature. Yet as a contemporary artist I reflect on how intervention into fragile areas causes tension and change in these environments. In my photographs, sculptural constructs, drawings, and narrative poems my engagement with a specific habitat niche comes through in a layering of experience. My process of creating a work is a ritual in itself. By documenting a transient event at a site, interpreting my personal connection to the place, and presenting altered elements from the location, I show my physical and emotional relationship to the topology of the land. 3

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6 EXHIBITION-RELATED WEBSITES and VIDEOS Tamiko Kawata Thea Lanzisero Seung Lee Barbara Roux Winn Rea What is Environmental Art? Online museum of environmental art 20 Unforgettable Works of Environmental Art WEAD: Women Environmental Artists Directory How to read a topographic map VIDEOS on An Eco-LogicalART Music Video of EartH and ReVisions/10 PLANET PROGRESS - Rubbish Revival: Eco-logical Art Garbage as Art - Recycling Garbage Into Awesome On-AIR Interview with Thea Lanzisero Monier-Williams 5

7 EXHIBITION-RELATED BOOKS Andy Goldsworthy: A Collaboration with Nature. Andy Goldsworthy (Author) Art Nature Dialogues: Interviews With Environmental Artists. John K. Grande (Author), Edward Lucie-Smith (Foreword) Bottlecap little Bottlecap. Michelle Stitzlein (Author) Earthworks And Beyond: Contemporary Art In the Landscape. John Beardsley (Author) Fragile ecologies: Contemporary Artist s Interpretations and Solutions. B. C. Matilsky (Author) Good Earth Art: Environmental Art for Kids (Bright Ideas for Learning). MaryAnn F. Kohl (Author), Cindy Gainer (Author) Green Guide for Artists: Nontoxic Recipes, Green Art Ideas, & Resources for the Eco-Conscious Artist. Karen Michel (Author) Land and Environmental Art. Jeffrey Kastner (Author), Brian Wallis (Author) Land Art: A Complete Guide To Landscape, Environmental, Earthworks, Nature, Sculpture and Installation Art. William Malpas (Author) The Little Book of Shocking Eco Facts. Cameron Dunn (Author), Mark Crundwell (Author) 6

8 EXHIBITION-RELATED VOCABULARY installation art: Art that is or has been installed (arranged in a place) either by the artist or as specified by the artist. medium (pl: media): The material(s) or technique(s) used by an artist to create a work of art. mixed media: A technique involving the use of two or more artistic media that are combined in a single work of art. repetition: When the same elements are used over and over again. For example, a certain color or shape may be used several times in the same work of art. movement: The act or process of moving, or changing position. Movement can be either actual or implied when the arrangement of the parts create a sense of motion by using lines, shapes, forms, or textures that cause the eye to move over the work. positive space: Space in an artwork that is positive filled with something, such as lines, designs, color, or shapes. negative space: Empty space in an artwork, a void. The opposite of positive space. relief: A type of sculpture in which form (three-dimensional shape) projects out from a background. environmental terms ecology: The study of the interaction of people with their environment topography: The physical surface, or relief, of the earth, described by its elevation, or height (i.e. hills and valleys). May include both natural and man-made forms. topographic map: A map that gives not only locations of roads, landmarks, and other features, but also gives contour lines at different elevations to show valleys, hills, and other topography of the area. repurpose: To take what may be otherwise a waste item and use it for another purpose. sustainable art: Environmental art that is produced with consideration for the wider impact of the work in relationship to its environment. 7

9 PRE- and POST-VISIT ACTIVITIES Bottlecap Mural This project may be modified for elementary, middle, or high school grade levels. For upper grade levels, arrange for students to mentor younger students, bringing together different grades through art. Motivation Have students look carefully at images from. Discuss the different materials and processes that the artists used. Which materials are natural? Which materials appear to be recycled? Does your class recycle? If not, is this something that students would like to begin? Do students recycle at home? Why is this so important? Show students the book Bottlecap little Bottlecap by Michelle Stitzlein and discuss creative ways to repurpose bottlecaps to create artwork. Beginning in September, start a bottlecap collection at your school. Promote the collection and place a bin in a heavily trafficked area for students in all grades to drop off their bottlecaps. As the year progresses, and the collection grows, so will anticipation for what you will create with all the recycled caps. Procedure 1. Begin by dividing the class into small groups. Have each group brainstorm an idea for a subject of a bottlecap mural. 2. Students must create a sketch for their design and write a short description about why they think their idea is appropriate for a mural in the school. 3. Have each group present and explains its ideas and then have the class vote to choose the final design. 4. Look in Bottlecap little Bottlecap for step-by-step instructions on how to create your mural. Adjust as needed for the site of your mural and the grade level(s) involved. 5. Have fun and keep recycling and repurposing! Learn more about the book Bottlecap little Bottlecap by Michelle Stitzlein: 8

10 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Tamiko Kawata Newspaper Fall Newspaper, wood dowel, bracket 12 x 8 x 1 ft. Photograph by Mark T. Ferguson Note: Not Heckscher Museum of Art installation. [detail] 9

11 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Seung Lee Circle of Life in 1996, 1996 Mixed Media 4 x 6 ft. 10

12 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Seung Lee Perplexity in 1996, 1996 Charcoal and pastel on found plywood 98 x 68 in. 11

13 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Seung Lee Tree of Life III, 2011 Mixed Media, Installation 10 x 10 x 6 ft. 12

14 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Winn Rea Reed Topo: Cold Spring Harbor Hollow, 2011 Reeds and pins on wall 30 x 72 x 6 in. [detail] 13

15 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Barbara Roux Fallen Moon, 2010 Photograph 18 x 24 in. 14

16 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Barbara Roux Tulip Seed Moon, 2010 Photograph 18 x 24 in. 15

17 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Tamiko Kawata Sea Urchins, 2009 Bubble wrap, shredded paper variable sizes Did you know? Sea urchins are sea creatures that live in oceans all over the world. Their spherical shape ranges from about 3 cm to 10 cm in diameter, and their bodies are covered with a spiny shell. The skeleton of a sea urchin is also known as the test. The shells within the test of these creatures are made up of packed, fitted plates which protect them from being damaged. The spines outlining their shell are movable and help to camouflage or protect it from predators. Sea urchins can vary greatly in colour. The most frequently seen colors are black, red, brown, purple and light pink. Like most creatures, sea urchins are vital for the survival of other living creatures surrounding them. They have many predators and due to this, if the sea urchin population decreased, the sea creatures that feed on them might begin to die out as well. A few of their predators are sea otters, star fish and humans. Source: 16

18 The Heckscher Museum of Art July 30 - October 23, 2011 Thea Lanzisero Bamboo Weaving [detail] 17

19 ALSO ON VIEW New York, New York July 30 - October 16, 2011 To commemorate the 10th anniversary of 9/11, this exhibition pays tribute to New York City and the courage of her people. New York s allure is celebrated in images of architectural landmarks and daily life. The vitality of the city is revealed in a wide selection of works, ranging from prints and photographs that record the transformation New York experienced during the 1930s to images that capture everyday experiences of the city s inhabitants. Above: Risaburo Kimura, New York, 1973, Serigraph on paper. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel S. Mandel. Left: Paul Staiger, The U.N. Plaza, n.d., Lithograph on paper. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel S. Mandel. Across Time & Place Treasures from the Permanent Collection Ongoing This rotating Permanent Collection exhibition includes paintings, drawings, and sculpture from the 1500s through the late 1900s in a wide range of styles, demonstrating the breadth and depth of the Museum s collection. (Joachim) Ferdinand Richardt, Niagara [detail], c August Heckscher Collection.

20 Explore the Collection Start at the Home Page Learn about COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS. George Grosz s Eclipse of the Sun and much SEARCH THE COLLECTION of more than 2,200 works by artist, classification, or date. See artwork that is CURRENTLY ON VIEW. Click thumbnails for large images and detailed information. Select works of art have Huey s Kid-Friendly Information. These guided questions are designed for children to learn along with a grown-up. Huey makes it fun for everyone to look and learn together! 19

21 Everything you SPECIAL EXHIBITION RESOURCE GUIDES for TEACHERS Prepare your students before their School Discovery Program! Guides are developed on a rolling basis and are available free of charge at Simply click on Education and Educator Resources. Guides contain exhibition-specific information including: Artist biographies Exhibition summaries Full-color artwork images Vocabulary words Pre- and post-visit activities SHARE LESSONS and STUDENT WORK in the KIDS CORNER Have you taught your students a lesson inspired by artwork on view in the Museum? Share it with us and fellow art teachers at The Museum will display images of your students artwork in the Kids Corner art gallery. HOW TO SUBMIT: Please send.jpg files of student work to seekamp@heckscher.org. All submissions must include teacher s full name, school name, district, and students grade level. If desired, include a brief description of the project. QUESTIONS? Call the Museum s Education Department , Monday through Friday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, or seekamp@heckscher.org. 2 Prime Avenue Huntington, NY Education Department